


Smile

by ca_te



Category: Glee
Genre: Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-07
Updated: 2010-09-07
Packaged: 2017-10-11 13:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/113127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ca_te/pseuds/ca_te
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachel comes back to Lima after 7 years and finds Finn and Kurt playing happy family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smile

**Author's Note:**

  * For [polychromator](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=polychromator).



> Written on 07 June 2010.Written for the 2010 fic exchange at finnkurt over at Livejournal. Thanks to Astuta for the beta.

The breeze plays with her hair and Rachel moves some strands away from her eyes. She still wears them long, in her opinion, it's part of what makes a woman's charm. Indeed, she had decided to wear them long when she was just four years old and thought that it was going to make a princess out of her. She also still wears weirdly colored short skirts.

She waves at a taxi, her bracelets tinkling against each other. As Lima's houses and streets pass by out of the window Rachel can't help but smile, she has managed to escape from this hole, from that loser's high school life. And she has been the only one! In the end no other gleek had the courage to leave it all behind, but oh, she had the talent, she knew she could succeed. No one will ever know how scared she had been as she waited for her entrance exam, standing in a shiny pink tutu along the corridor outside the audition room. No, no one will ever know, 'cause what matters is that she managed to enter the Julliard Academy, she is the one who sang and danced with New York's skyscrapers shining out of the windows, and she is the one who's working in Broadway now. Not Mercedes, not Tina, not Kurt. And really it doesn't matter if sometimes when she goes to bed at night she misses the old times in high school, the Glee club and Finn's shy attentions.

 

The taxi stops in front of her fathers' house. It's still the same as ever, the lawn outside, the curtains on the windows. Rachel smiles because it's as if her parents have been waiting for her to come back. She pays the fare to the taxi driver and flashes at him a white smile, then rushes to the door and presses a finger on the door bell.

 

Her room is just the same as it was seven years ago, except her fathers have hung on the walls some posters of musicals she has sung in during the past years. She covers her mouth with both her hands and, eyes watery, jumps up and down a couple of times. Just being in that room makes her feel as if she is sixteen years old again, and she really wants to meet the others from the old Glee club, to see how they are now, to tell them who she has become, even though, well, they probably know already.

 

The next morning she wakes up early as We are golden pours out of the radio alarm, then she starts her morning practice, she has never stopped doing it, she is pretty sure it has worked in her favor over the years.

 

She feels slightly uncomfortable as she walks out of the house, though, as if there still could be the possibility of someone slushing her face as she walks along the streets. She had thought to call the other guys and to meet them somewhere but she had tried with the numbers she had memorized in her mobile and none of them seemed to work, so she thought that it would be alright just to walk around the town, 'cause anyway it was so little that it was impossible not to run into someone.

The shops are still the same, the same objects, the same signs and the same flowers in the flower beds along the streets. It's somehow suffocating, but then again she feels as if she is shining through it all.

 

She passes in front of a Mc Donald's and walks towards Mckinley High, she desires to stand in front of that building, knowing that she has won.

 

As she is walking along the road she tries to look at the faces of the people passing by, hoping to find someone who will recognize her. She sighs, but then a known voice reaches her ears. It's high pitched and there's laughter in it. Rachel turns and it's not difficult to spot Kurt, his clothes shining among the sad uniformity of other people's ordinary clothes. Rachel takes a step and the stops in her tracks because Finn's at Kurt's side, and he's looking right at Kurt, the smile which Rachel has always found so adorable on his face. She is ready to call him out but then Finn leans down and presses his lips to Kurt's, and Kurt's hand gently rests on Finn's shoulder. Rachel can't help to think that Finn's lips seem to belong there, over Kurt's.

 

She tilts her head to the side, they don't seem ashamed of others seeing them. She wonders how much Kurt has been able to change Finn, because from what she remembers he used to be always concerned with appearances and with what people thought of him. But now he has his eyes closed to the world and is kissing Kurt as if it's the most natural thing in the world. Rachel lowers her gaze on her varnished shoes, before she turns around she hears Kurt's soft laughter.

 

The second time that Rachel sees the two of them is when she is out to dinner with her fathers. They are in the nicest restaurant in Lima, if so can be said, and Rachel has decided not to boast too much about the restaurants she is used to go to in New York.

 

As her fathers go through the menu, she lets her eyes wander around the restaurant. It's as if Lima losers can be recognized, the way they sit sadly and somehow ignorantly even in a nice and elegant restaurant. Almost without noticing Rachel twists her mouth in disgust.

 

Then something attracts her attention, sitting at a table in the corner, whispering to each other over the white tablecloth, are Finn and Kurt. Finn talks and Kurt nods, he seems amused by something that the taller man is saying. Yes man, because, Rachel notices all of sudden, they are both men now, they no longer are the two boys whom she used to know, the two boys who were so different from each other, that they couldn't manage to have a relationship which wasn't at least a bit awkward.

 

Rachel remembers all the turmoil about their parents dating each other, she remembers how Finn had struggled to keep her for himself even when she had Jesse. She had felt so wanted and desired at that time, she had felt as the main actress of one of those epic movies which gain tons of money.

 

But then, Finn is here, in the same room as her, and he is holding Kurt's hand gently, and saying something which makes Kurt blush and squeeze Finn's hand back. She wonders what they are saying to each other, but then her dad's hand is on her arm, bringing her back to reality, and she forces herself to focus on her parents, on what they are saying. Somehow she feels safe, having the two of them with her, shielding her from the things she has left behind, from the opportunities that she has missed.

 

While they are eating their dessert Rachel shoots a quick glance in Finn's and Kurt's direction, they are getting up and slowly walking towards the exit. Without thinking twice about it she tells her parents that she has to say hi to a couple of friends and rushes quickly to the door.

 

Finn and Kurt are still in front of the restaurant, Kurt on his toes as he adjusts the collar of Finn's coat, Finn smiles at him and encircles his thin waist with his arms. Kurt huffs as he collides against Finn's broad chest and then chuckles a soft "You big baby". Rachel feels her cheeks heat up, and has the sensation that she is not supposed to witness such an intimate scene, but she is there now and she does the only thing that she can, she clears her throat and takes a tentative step towards them. Both of them turn towards her, a questioning look on their faces. Surprisingly the first one to react is Kurt, his face lights up and his lips turn up in a wide and sincere smile. He disentangles himself from the safety of Finn's arms and walks towards her.

 

"Oh my! Rachel!"

 

He hugs her tight, and after a moment of shock she hugs him back, she didn't expect Kurt to be so happy to see her, and she feels a bit bad at the thought that she wanted to see him mainly to shove in his face all that she has done during the past years, to prove that she was the diva and not him. But Kurt's arms are gentle around her shoulders and his voice is happy as he turns and talks to Finn.

 

"Hey Finn! Have you seen who has come back?"

 

Grinning he reaches for Finn's hand and pulls him closer, Finn too is smiling, a kind smile which Rachel has missed, and still, there's a different undertone to it, and Rachel's sure that that sweeter undertone is there thanks to Kurt.

 

They remain in front of the restaurant as they talk, Rachel babbles about her current life and Kurt and Finn nod and compliment her, standing close to each other. She leaves them with the promise that they are going to meet with all the other gleeks for a night out together. Finn and Kurt tell her that they are going to call the others 'cause they have kept in touch, Kurt gives her his mobile number. After having hugged them and wished them a goodnight she watches as they walk away along the sidewalk, Kurt's smaller hand wrapped in Finn's larger one.

 

The following day, as Rachel is backing her famous biscuits for her dads, her mobile phone goes of and she reaches for it with a hand covered in flour. She chirps a "hello", and she hears Kurt's laugh as answer, "You really haven't changed at all, have you, Rachel?".

 

Rachel laughs at Kurt's comment, she has learnt to be a bit less touchy over the years, and she has to admit that she has missed Kurt's attitude. Kurt tells her that she can come to their house that evening and have dinner with them before going out with the others. Rachel says that she'd be happy to go, she asked if she has to go to Kurt's house or to Finn's and Kurt chuckles again in her ear.

 

"We live together, Rachel. Russel Street, number 4."

 

After she has put the phone back on the counter she looks at the dough in front of her, her knees weaker all of sudden. She would have never expected this when she decided to go back to Lima, and she still can't understand if she is happy for them or not, the only thing that she feels is something lurching in her stomach.

 

She asks to one of her dads to drive her to Finn's and Kurt's house, she plays with the hem of her skirt during the whole drive. When his father stops the car she looks out the window, and studies the house. It's a small house, with two floors, and a little lawn in front of it.

 

Rachel imagines that Finn is the one who mows the grass, she imagines Kurt bringing him cold water as he's working. She thanks her dad and walks along the small path which leads to the porch. Everything it's clean and tidy, as it's to be expected from Kurt. As she stands in front of the door, about to ring the doorbell, a million of questions start to form in her head. When did the two of them begin to date, when they decided to live together? She swallows and presses her finger to the doorbell.

 

It's Finn who opens the door, he smiles at her and moves to the side to let her in. The hall is small but neat, Rachel swallows as she takes off her jacket while Finn guides her into the other room, babbling something along the lines of "soforhowlongareyougoingtoremainhere?", stumbling over the words as he used to do when they were sixteen years old, as he did on their graduation day. At the time he was still a bit interested in her, Rachel thinks, but then again things are different right now, even though Finn is still embarrassed as a teenager when he speaks to her.

 

Kurt shouts from the other room, saying that he will come in a minute, Rachel sits on the couch and lets her gaze travel around the room, there are few pieces of furniture, all quite modern and simple. Finn sits at her side and almost as if he is reading her mind he says that it was all Kurt's doing, it was Kurt who chose the furniture and the rest. Rachel tilts her head to the side and looks at Finn, who's sitting there, a smile on his face as he looks at his own living room; he seems like a child in the wonderland, he looks so happy. Rachel wonders why he has let Kurt chose everything, and Finn, as if it is the most natural thing in the world, just answers that Kurt has definitely a better taste than him.

 

Rachel looks at her hands on her knees for a while, imagining the way Finn and Kurt live together, the way they sleep in the same bed and have breakfast together. Kurt enters carrying a tray with three glasses of something which looks like a Martini on it, he smiles at Rachel and puts the tray on the coffee table in front of the couch. He hands her a glass and then picks up the other two. Rachel looks at Kurt's hand as it brushes against Finn's.

 

"So welcome in our house, Rachel!"

 

Rachel smiles politely, it's both uncomfortable to be exposed to the happiness of their shared life and calming, and somehow it also warms her to know that they've found each other. She takes a sip of her drink and thinks that probably just few years ago she would have never thought something like that, she would have been jealous, because on the stage, under the lights there was only Kurt for Finn.

 

Kurt has cooked and Rachel is taken aback from how good the food is, she has never been very close to Kurt, but she knows she should have expected him to be good at cooking considering that he lived alone with his dad.

 

Finn and Kurt talk about their lives, and even though they are not singers or artists they are not upset as Rachel had expected. She discovers that Finn works as a basketball coach at McKinley High, and thanks to him she also discovers that there's still a Glee club running. Kurt, instead, works at the mall, as a shop assistant at Gucci. Rachel is surprised when he tells her about his work and there's no sign or hint of regret or frustration in his voice, nor in his eyes. He talks about all the nice clothes, and how the ladies love when he starts to talk about combining colors. Rachel asks them if they don't miss singing, and she knows it's a mean question to ask, but she really can't help it.

 

Kurt looks at Finn and Finn looks at Kurt, smiles blossoming on their faces.

 

"Oh but we do sing now and then"

 

Finn nods and continues, "Yeah, we sing to each other now and then, Kurt just puts on a cd and we sing in the living room or wherever we want"

 

Kurt chuckles, "You should see him all excited singing with a can of beer as microphone!"

 

Finn punches his arm jokingly and Kurt fakes indignation, but it all ends up with the both of them laughing.

 

"Oh and we also sing with Mercedes and the others sometimes, it's so much fun"

 

Rachel listens and imagines the lives that all of them are living in Lima, and she can no longer think about them as losers, as people who have given up on their dreams, because she is sitting in front of Kurt and Finn and all she sees are the tender gazes that they share.

 

When she meets all the others in a pub after dinner she has the sensation of being back in high school. They still look the same and yet she can see that they are all adults now, and they are not unsure as they used to be.

 

Quinn and Puck's daughter is now nine years old, they are not married and they don't live together neither but seem to get on pretty well anyway. Tina and Artie are still together instead. Mercedes has started to work as an interior designer, and she still is Kurt's best friend, Rachel can tell from how the two of them hug each other when they arrive at the pub.

 

Every one is nice with her, and while she is among them, and they ask about her career, about her life in New York, the realization of how much she has missed them hits her.

She sees their faces and feels warm, because she understands that they have always been her friends.

She sits with Tina and Mercedes, listening to their stories, laughing with them, and now and then she looks at Finn and Kurt, drinking with Puck and Mike at the counter. Kurt has leaned slightly over it and Finn stands by his side, and now and then casually caresses Kurt's hair or puts an arm around Kurt's shoulders. Kurt leans into the touch, a small smile on his still childlike face.

 

As the night goes by they drink a little bit more, and start to dance and sing along with the songs which echo over their heads. Rachel claps her hands following the rhythm as she dances around with Mercedes or spins around Artie's wheelchair. Finn and Kurt dance together, their bodies pressed so close that there's no space left between them, and as they twirl around following the music Finn leans down and firmly presses his lips to Kurt's. It's the second time that Rachel sees them kissing, and there's something which is so tender and yet passionate in that kiss that she has to avert her gaze.

 

Mercedes, who's standing next to her, must have noticed because she smiles at her and says that it was funny for all of them to see those two so intimate at the beginning, it wasn't something that they had expected, it just happened some months after graduation, they both went to the same University nearby and they had slowly began to get closer as they used to be before the thing between their parents had driven them apart. And then, out of the blue, one weekend Kurt had come back home and had called Mercedes telling her that he had a boyfriend and that boyfriend was Finn Hudson. Rachel can totally see it happen, in the end there was already a connection between the two guys when they still were sixteen, when they still were the shadows of the men they are now.

 

Rachel goes back to dance as the night passes over the adults they have become. Finn and Kurt drive her home when it's time to go back, she will be flying to New York the day after. When Finn stops the car in front of her dads' house Rachel has so many things to say to them, but they just wouldn't come out of her mouth.

 

They get off the car with her and they hug her in front of the door. Rachel feels something, which she doesn't want to acknowledge as tears, at the back of her eyes, and for a moment longer than she intended she hides her face against Finn's chest, and she is grateful that Kurt doesn't say anything and remains at their side, smiling gently at her. She promises them that she will come back more often and that she'll call, Kurt says that she can come whenever she wants and that of course they will answer to all of her calls.

 

Even after some days spent with them Rachel is taken aback by how much Kurt has grown up, how much more confident he is in himself, so much that, while when they were younger he couldn't stand her, now he's caring and reassuring. Another thing she hasn't got the time to get used to is the way he talks both for himself and for Finn, as if he knows Finn as an open book, as a map which he has studied over and over, and Rachel thinks that's probably the meaning of being in love with someone and sharing the life with them.

 

The day after she is sitting in the plane which is about to take off, she fastens her seatbelt and her thoughts go back to the ride in Finn's and Kurt's car, the music pouring out of the radio, the two of them singing under their breath. It had been ages since the last time she had heard them sing, and yet their voices were beautiful as they used to be, and Rachel can't help but wonder weather it's better to share your voice with the world as she does or to keep it as something alive and soft and vibrant between yourself and the one you love.

 

﻿


End file.
